Mar | 31 | 2008

Making Money Through Consumer Generated Ads

As I mentioned in my previous post today I will be suggesting some ways you can still profit by joining programs such as Pay Per Post and yet ensure that your readers don’t get turned off.

In my opinion the only way to really do this is by making sure that your blog entries stay the same quality (or improve in quality). This wouldn’t be possible if you start spamming your own blog by churning out consumer-generated ads post after post. So the first thing to remember is to post ads in moderation. The truth is that while many bloggers claim that they only write about a product they really like the pull of money is hard to resist and most bloggers find ways to keeping on mentioning products/services a bit too often. Readers can see through this and immediately get turned off. To make sure you only post ads in moderation I suggest that you…

ask a close friend/blogger (who won’t benefit from your blog) to be honest with you and tell you if you are going overboard (meaning your blog is turning spammy)
set a self-imposed limit on the amount of ads you will post in your blog - You can make limit this to once a week or once a day or 1 in every 4 posts.
create a new blog for this specific purpose - If you really want to post as much as you want then it would be better to create a new blog for this specific purpose

Tag: Monetization Features

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3 Responses

Hal
01|Apr|2008

Thank you for this guidance. Could you give me some advise? I am embarking on a blogging/marketing effort to introduce/promote a Japanese product in the English speaking world.
I don’t have any real experience with blogging but I do wish to make my blog “tastefully commercial”.
It involves translating Japanese labels, explaining different brands and so on.
Can’t I be upfront about my dual intent and build some trust by being explicit?
And would say 3 to 5 ads on the page be a “fair” number?
Sorry for troubling you with this….
Guru
04|Apr|2008

Hi Hal. In my opinion being transparent is good. Disguising your intent to market your product will simply turn off readers if they see through the lie. However, make sure that you do not blog solely about the product. Offer something of real value to your readers like mini Japanese lessons. Teach them to read common words in katakana. Get them involved by giving guessing contests regarding the labels on the product (give product samples as prizes!). There’s so much you can do to make your blog something to come back to even if your primary purpose is to market your product.

Regarding the number of ads 3 to 5 ads is ok depending on the kind of ads and the layout. If your blog looks like one big ad it can be a turn off but if done tastefully then it shouldn’t be a problem.

Good luck in your venture and feel free to ask questions any time! Leave your email add next time so I can send you an email to answer your questions in greater depth. ^_^
Hal
22|Apr|2008

Arigato/thank you for your useful advise. Could you give us some examples of blogs that went from mediocre to useful to great?
Could you highlight the key factors for “blog effectiveness” for A) Popularity, B) Stickiness and C) Commercial Impact?
Could you give guidance on theme selection to enhance commercial blogs?
Seems to me Stock Gumshoe:http://www.stockgumshoe.com/2007/04/stock-gumshoe-new-and-improved.html
theme fits subject matter.
Thank you for your consideration.
Hal

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